Post XP / Simple Burner

[i.used.jell]

So if I've got this right... There is no way to rip CD tracks directly to a MD using your computer anymore if you don't have an old OS??? This is nuts. Surely, this was one of the amazing advantages the MD had over an iPod and the like.

Please someone tell me I am wrong and there is an equiv. for Simple Burner to use on Vista. I use my MD with a sub. to play music, coz' my laptop is pants, so the whole ripping to SonicS first is fairly tiresome.

[Avrin]

SimpleBurner is no longer updated or supported. The only way to use it with Vista/7 is from a virtual installation of Windows 2000 or XP.

[i.used.jell]

SimpleBurner is no longer updated or supported. The only way to use it with Vista/7 is from a virtual installation of Windows 2000 or XP.

Okay, so apart from this virtual older version of windows, there is no way for me to directly rip to MD using my PC?

[sfbp]

Okay, so apart from this virtual older version of windows, there is no way for me to directly rip to MD using my PC?

To be fair the phrase "simple burner" actually hid a huge lump of software, some of it involving some highly protected cryptographic mathematics, that is actually required to decode ANY of the Sony audio files on your PC. To date, this has not actually been broken (hacked).

So there's nothing simple about it. The edifice will not stand on Vista or W7. However you can buy W7 OUT OF THE BOX with an XP emulator, which will do what you want. So unless you want it for nothing, there's no particular cause for complaint. After all XP systems aren't yet a vanishing breed. Until W7 got released MS was forced to sell "downgrades" to Vista-haters.

[i.used.jell]

To be fair the phrase "simple burner" actually hid a huge lump of software, some of it involving some highly protected cryptographic mathematics, that is actually required to decode ANY of the Sony audio files on your PC. To date, this has not actually been broken (hacked).

So there's nothing simple about it. The edifice will not stand on Vista or W7. However you can buy W7 OUT OF THE BOX with an XP emulator, which will do what you want. So unless you want it for nothing, there's no particular cause for complaint. After all XP systems aren't yet a vanishing breed. Until W7 got released MS was forced to sell "downgrades" to Vista-haters.

My point is that I play a lot of my albums on MD as I no longer have a CD player. Therefore, surely you can see that SimpleBurner makes a huge difference for directly ripping, as opposed to ripping to SS first and then on MD? Now I don't have XP and can't afford Windows 7 (+ emulator) it's a big loss for me. SimpleBurner surely had the edge over Itunes also, which requires CD ripping onto the software then transferring onto an Ipod.

[sfbp]

surely you can see that SimpleBurner makes a huge difference for directly ripping, as opposed to ripping to SS first and then on MD?

Surely. Minis were better than Micras or DAFs, right? And they even brought back the Mini. Simple burner is great in a number of ways but it's a little limited (out of the box) in terms of allowed bit rates.

There's another point that I have made repeatedly (though there are plenty here who disagree with me which is in part why I keep on making it) - the ripping of CD's AT 1411kHz using SS really doesn't work. Sony messed up (I believe in their attempts to have something FAST to compete with the other nameless brand), so by ripping at max bitrate and downconverting you get the worst of both worlds - poor sound and huge disk files. FYI if you are stuck with ripping via SS, then I recommend storing the files as Atrac Advanced Lossless. In its maximum bit rate (352kbps) it takes about 1/2 the space required by "raw" PCM, and is very quick (once ripped) to transfer to MD. It seems (although the name is a euphemism, it's not truly lossless like FLAC) that this will give you the most choices in the future. Also AAL is not encrypted, so the files can be moved around a network and accessed by other SS installs, which is NOT true of the other rips, unless you make the effort to decrypt them using the Sonic Stage File Conversion Tool.

However there are other ways to get data there (onto MD). Many folks have commented that they like recording into the optical of a portable, the sound is better (in their subjective opinion).

My preferred option is with a combo deck. MXD-Dnnn where nnn=3,4,40,400, and also 5C (ie MXD-D5C). Here you can choose between real time (best quality) or highspeed (about the same but will not do the Type-R transformation on the fly). The latter is good enough for almost any situation where I simply want to listen to the music on a portable or in the car.

[mmp64]

My point is that I play a lot of my albums on MD as I no longer have a CD player. Therefore, surely you can see that SimpleBurner makes a huge difference for directly ripping, as opposed to ripping to SS first and then on MD? Now I don't have XP and can't afford Windows 7 (+ emulator) it's a big loss for me. SimpleBurner surely had the edge over Itunes also, which requires CD ripping onto the software then transferring onto an Ipod.

My suggestion would be to buy a Sony ATRAC CD player - a used one in good condition, like the DN-F430. It offers the most versatility of any device for folks with ATRAC libraries. Obviously will play audio CDs (so you don't need to rip them) - ATRAC CDs gaplessly, MP3 CDs, and some with AM/FM Radios, etc. etc. And you get the nice Sony sound. I actually bought a 2nd generation ATRAC CD player (not gapless) for $2.76.

I know this doesn't directly address your point, but the fact is that Sony has not supported any of this for quite some time. At some point, I would imagine that even the links to the CDDB will stop working in SS.

Interestingly, the original ATRAC CD players shipped with a "CD" version of Simple Burner that allowed you to rip ATRAC directly to CD. I've been looking for one of those discs for a while.

[NickyJay]

If Sony are still selling the MZ-RH1 then surely they must be obligated to provide software that allows it to operate under Windows 7...

[Azureal]

Maybe the RH1 does not come with SB? I don't recall for sure, but it would not surprise me.

[Syrius]

How about ripping to WMA lossless, then import those to Sonicstage? I then transfer them to MD on Hi-Sp or 352, and they sound fine to me.

[THIS SUCKS]

there are new drivers for net md under windows 7 form just a few months ago. maybe you can use those?

[sfbp]

there are new drivers for net md under windows 7 form just a few months ago. maybe you can use those?

OP says:

1. That he doesn't want to use an older version of Windows

2. That he can't afford a newer version of Windows

(unless I have misread the post).

This leaves the #linux-minidisc project which has some abilities along these lines. However I don't believe they are currently implemented in a working, shareable piece of software.

Conclusions?